Man gets 20 years for fatal stabbing

Schenectady man had to go back to cell after outburst, lawyer says

Published 7:45 pm, Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Perry Miller is lead to court for his sentencing in County Court Jan. 16, 2013 at the Schenectady County Courthouse in Schenectady, N.Y. The sentencing was delayed until tomorrow due to further court action. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Perry Miller is lead to court for his sentencing in County Court...

Perry Miller is lead to court for his sentencing in County Court Jan. 16, 2013 at the Schenectady County Courthouse in Schenectady, N.Y. The sentencing was delayed until tomorrow due to further court action. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

SCHENECTADY — Perry Miller apparently got so angry about Wednesday's court proceedings that he cursed in front of Schenectady County Judge Karen Drago during his sentencing for manslaughter, his lawyer said.

Defense attorney Steven X. Kouray said Drago ordered Miller out of her court to cool down and talk with his lawyer.

When he returned from the holding cell about an hour later, he declined to address the court about the crime before receiving a 20-year prison term for the Jan. 30 stabbing death of Tammie Washington, 43, Kouray said.

Miller, who had pleaded guilty in May to first-degree manslaughter, was also ordered to pay $8,000 in funeral expenses, which will be divided between the victim's family the state Office of Victim Services, his attorney said.

After his plea, Miller, 35, filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which Drago denied, paving the way for Wednesday's sentencing.

Miller's girlfriend, Sonya Hall, 44, pleaded guilty later in May to one count of felony criminal possession of a weapon in exchange for a 1½- to 4½-year prison sentence. She is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for her role in the case.

As part of her plea deal, Hall had agreed to testify against Miller. She apparently had a change of heart and in surreptitious jailhouse letters assured him she wouldn't take the stand against him. The correspondences were confiscated and turned over to the district attorney's office. On Wednesday, Chief Assistant District Attorney Philip Mueller read some of those letters, said Kouray.

Washington and Hall, who knew each other, got into a heated verbal dispute over a man while the two and Miller were eating breakfast at the Salvation Army soup kitchen in downtown Schenectady.

The argument continued outside, with Washington pursuing Hall and Miller on foot.

At one point, Washington threw a piece of metal piping at the pair that missed, authorities said. It was then that Miller demanded the concealed knife that Hall carried. He used the weapon to stab Washington twice, authorities said.

Police found Washington bleeding profusely in a bank parking lot on State Street following the attack. She was taken Ellis Hospital, where she died.

Mueller, who prosecuted the case, did not immediately return a call Wednesday.